Linda Wright used to walk the shelter floor with a small bag of gauze and saline, introducing herself one person at a time.
“I walked around asking what people needed, changing dressings, helping make appointments,” says Linda, a registered nurse who joined Hope Mission in 2020.
In the beginning, trust came slowly.
“Just because you have a title doesn’t mean people accept you,” she says. “When people saw I was consistent — that I’d sit, listen, help with a sandwich or a bus ticket — that’s when they started coming for care.”
Six years later, that small nursing team has grown into HopeHealth — a comprehensive health service embedded within the organization’s shelters. What began with three nurses now includes a 110-bed, 24/7 health shelter, a low-barrier walk-in clinic at the Herb Jamieson Centre, and on-site clinic spaces across Hope Mission shelters in Edmonton and Wetaskiwin.
The original trio has expanded into a 50-person clinical team of registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, paramedics, and healthcare aides. In October, HopeHealth added three nurse practitioners — including Linda.
“As a registered nurse, I gave medications, did dressing changes, and assessed patients,” Linda says. “But I couldn’t diagnose, prescribe medications, order bloodwork, or interpret X-rays. As a nurse practitioner, I can.”
After completing a master’s degree, Linda now serves as a clinician in the community, much like a physician at a walk-in clinic.
“We’re trained differently than doctors, but in terms of what we can do for patients, there isn’t a big difference in scope,” Linda says.
- LISTEN: Nurse Practitioners Close Gaps in Care (Hope stories podcast available on Apple or Spotify)
Adding nurse practitioners to the HopeHealth team fills a critical gap in care, says Beth Klingenberg, director of health services. For care needs that went beyond the scope of nursing, clients required an external referral.
“That handoff can create a gap in care — and we lose people in that gap,” Beth says. “But now with nurse practitioners on site, we can take that next step ourselves.”
HopeHealth is built around identifying barriers and developing services that respond.
“When someone hears they need to see a nurse practitioner, it used to mean a complicated process. Now it’s, ‘She’s just down the hall.’ That changes everything.”
Beth hopes to expand the nurse practitioner program, add physicians, and continue hosting visiting specialists such as optometry and dentistry.
“Space is another issue — we’re outgrowing our facilities,” Beth says. “The need continues to grow.”
Four months into her new role as a nurse practitioner, Linda is integrating advanced clinical practice with the relational care she practiced as an RN.
“I get to practice both medical care and person-centered care. I get to sit and hear people’s stories. And I work with a team that genuinely cares. That makes a difference.”